Circumstance
by Hawki
Summary: Oneshot: Courtesy of Dominion propaganda, Ariel Hanson always assumed that the zerg would remain on Char and that Raynor's Raiders were a bunch of bloodthirsty terrorists. Events on Agria tell a different story however, one with unexpected revelations.


**Circumstance**

Ariel Hanson had never flown before.

That being said, it was something that the doctor knew she'd have to get used to, at least for the next few minutes. The dropship the rebel who'd introduced himself as Matt Horner was piloting had obviously seen better days, said days presumably featuring a cooling unit that actually worked. How the usual pilot of the Raiders' base ship managed to stand being copped up in such a vessel while wearing a uniform that wouldn't be out of place in the Dominion Armada was beyond her.

_Maybe he's used to it, _the doctor thought, taking off her glasses and brushing away beads of sweat that weren't entirely due to heat. _Maybe he's used to partaking in hasty evacuations of farming colonies subject to zerg invasion._

Somehow, she doubted it. Rogue zerg might have remained active in Koprulu in the months after the Brood War and there were rumours of a failed invasion around Dylar IV back in 2503, but whatever the truth of these past events, they were nothing compared to what was currently occurring, how the Dominion had been invaded by living nightmares with worlds such as Agria left to fend for themselves. It had never bothered her however, content with her mundane routine of tending to the sick on a world still exposed to the elements. Her routine had never changed and if it hadn't been for the zerg, it probably never would have-...

"Son of a bitch!"

A series of curses from Horner in tandem with a serious of impacts on the dropship later and Hanson didn't need to guess why the rebel/terrorist was cursing about. The dropship's other occupants, most of them damaged physically and/or psychologically due to the events of the last few hours was a different story and looked around in bewildered fear. Another few seconds later, with most of their gazes coming her way, she knew they'd be relying on her for answers. Hanson had never thought of herself as a leader type, her plain appearance and casual demeanour contributing to that assessment, but with Agria's inhabitants turning to her when the zerg had invaded, it was clear that others thought differently.

Moving up to the cockpit, the doctor couldn't blame them. Impressions often became truths, just like her formerly held truth that the Raiders were the immoral terrorists UNN made them out to be instead of brave men and women who'd risk their lives against the Swarm to save their fellow terrans.

"Is something wrong lieutenant?" she asked cautiously, standing behind the dropship's pilot.

The pilot glanced back at her, his brown eyes laced with surprise. "No ma'am. Should there be?"

Hanson supposed it was safe to assume that the earlier impacts were nothing to worry about, but his earlier comments still begged consideration.

"Oh, just heard you cursing," she said cautiously, hoping that the boy's persona wasn't a facade hiding volatile brutality that led to...well, whatever supposed. atrocity the enemies of the Dominion were responsible for. "I thought something might be wrong."

Horner's visage did change, but only by becoming grimmer.

"Yeah, you could say that," he said darkly. "Tychus has got the captain's ear. Your people are to set up shop in the mess rather than have proper quarters."

Hanson's head spun. What was a mess? Who was Tychus? And if the Raiders had been good enough to evacuate Agria, why hadn't they got proper medical facilities to help the zerg's intended victims?

"Not my decision of course," said the pilot hastily, as if reading the doctor's mind. "But...well, the captain can be a bit impetuous at times. Once he gets something in his sights, he-..."

"The captain?" asked Hanson.

Horner raised an eyebrow. "Jim Raynor ma'am. Leader of the Raiders, captain of the _Hyperion_. Rebel scum if you believe the propaganda the Dominion spews out, but I'm guessing that you're above that."

"And why's that?" asked Hanson diplomatically, deciding that if she was going to change the accommodation for those under her care, it was best to start her offensive with baby steps.

Horner chuckled. "We saved your world while Mengsk left you to the mercy of the zerg. That should speak for itself."

The doctor went quiet. Partly because of the battlecruiser the dropship was approaching, a ship that had obviously seen better days, partly because of the boy's words. That the Raiders had saved Agria _did _speak for itself. After five years of listening to the official story, a single selfless action had changed her impression in a matter of hours. It was all too much really.

Sighing, Hanson went back to her seat, closing her eyes as she leant against the neosteel wall. She needed to save her energy for the debate to come with Captain Raynor and this Tychus fellow. And while the doctor had argued with many patients over the course of her career, she'd done so in the knowledge that she knew better than them, that she was in the position of authority. But approaching a ship that should have been scrapped years ago populated by freedom fighters who she'd initially regarded as terrorists, captained by a man who was willing to do the right thing on a whim but without much thought to the aftermath...well, that would be interesting.

In a way, she was looking forward to it.


End file.
